Behind the scenes (10B)
by cintiamcr
Summary: One shots about possible offscreen scenes, filling the gaps between episodes. Canon through 10B. Starring: Alex and Jo (with a very special Wilson-Karev guest on chapter 5). Guest starring: Steph, April, Cristina, Owen, Meredith and Jackson. Rated T for sexual innuendo and minor coarse language. Disclaimer: I don't own anything, it's all Shonda's.
1. I'm telling you I'm not going (10x13)

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

So, last year I wrote a story, Learning to breathe, to write a few things I think were missing in the show about Alex and Jo. There's so much happening offscreen lately! I plan to do the same now. It will be like a series of one shots, probably one for each episode, but it's possible that I'll write more, depending on how the story goes onscreen because I want to keep it as close as possible to the show. This first chapter includes their last interaction on 10x13 and what I think should happen next.

It's Jolex centric, sometimes on her POV, sometimes on his, but you'll probably see a lot of other characters too, because I like to write their interactions with everyone.

For those who are reading my Jolex-Crowen story, Miles, chapter 9 is coming soon.

I hope you enjoy it! Reviews are always welcomed.

* * *

**_And I'm telling you I'm not going  
_****_You're the best man I'll ever know  
_****_There's no way I can ever go  
_****(And I'm telling you I'm not going - Jennifer Hudson)**

When Ben Warren called Jo and said that Webber had asked him to cover her patients for the night, she knew that the worst had happened. Jimmy was dead. There was no other possibility for her to be released from her duties before her shift ends. Without thinking twice or stopping for anything, she went all the way through Jimmy's bedroom. Only when she was a few feet away, she noticed that her eyes were wet. Taking a deep breath, she paused for a second, to put herself together again. Alex needed her and she had to be strong. She didn't want him to be worried about her tears, when he should be only concerned about the feelings that he was trying to hide.

She took the steps left, arrived at the door and what she saw broke her heart. There he was, the patient laying in bed with no signal of life and, sitting by his bedside, the son he'd hurt all life. Damn it, she wouldn't be able to hold her tears for too long.

Alex turned his head and looked at her. Even in the dark, she noticed that his hazel eyes were a little puffy and he looked tired. She then remembered the fight they had earlier that day. He probably was still thinking that she would leave him, just because she didn't want to get married right now. God knew how untrue was this idea! Alex also should know at this point of their relationship. But this wasn't the time to discuss his abandonment issues, it was time for her to be there. Slowly, she stepped inside the room and stood behind Alex's chair. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the rights words. What could someone say to the boyfriend who was grieving for the father for whom he had so mixed feelings like Alex has towards Jimmy? She had never lost someone to know how he was feeling right now. She never had someone to loose. She hoped that the simple gesture of touching his shoulder would do the job that her mouth couldn't.

Without looking back, Alex took Jo's hand and she felt again all the tears she was trying to avoid. She felt sad for Jimmy, losing his life when he was honestly trying to be a better man and fix things he'd messed. She was still mad at Shane and even a little guilty for not being there to stop him when he decided to open a patient on his own. But, most of all, it killed her to see Alex that way. If she could make one single wish at that moment, she would ask for him never had to feel that pain again - and she was sure that, if the roles were reversed, he would wish the same thing for her.

Jo wouldn't be able to say how much time they stayed like that, just staring at the bed. Then, Alex broke the silence.

"I lied to him," he said.

Coming from anybody else - herself included - this statement would be meaningless to Jo. But she knew how much Alex valued honesty and, still, he had broken his own moral code for the second time because of his father. With her free hand, she squeezed his, to encourage him to keep talking. He did.

"I said that Naomi and Nick were coming. And that they knew that he loved them. I don't even know if I believe this is true, but I couldn't tell him that she came and took the freaking guitar."

One more time, Jo could hear the true meaning of his words. He was struggling, trying to avoid his feelings and not knowing how much he could expose. Not knowing if he could admit to himself that he cared. But she was glad that he was opening himself to her, even though they had that misunderstanding about the engagement. Everybody who saw the beginning of their relationship could notice how much they had grown on that time. First they were friends, then they were lovers, and now they were also partners.

"You did the right thing," she said, sweetly. As if he was just waiting for her approval, he looked at her with a sad and quick smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Come here," Alex said, motioning for her to sit. She outlined his chair and took the recliner, bringing it closer to him. Then, she sat and looked again at her boyfriend, giving all her attention to anything he had to say. He, on the other hand, was still staring at his father. Since he didn't say anything, she said. "It's good that you were here when... when it happened."

"Nobody should die alone," he replied, without taking his eyes from Jimmy. A minute passed before he look at her again. He sighed. "We should go home, right? I guess I'll be the one dealing with his funeral or whatever."

"You can rest now. If you want, I can deal with everything," she said. He definitely should take a rest. She could count on her fingers how many times he went home in the last three weeks, even Yang was worried.

He shook his head and took her hand. "I just want you to be here."

"I'll be," she assured him, using not only her words, but also her eyes and her smile. He smiled too.

"I'm sorry for pushing you before," he said. Though the conversation itself had brought them to this point, Jo wasn't expecting this. She didn't know what to expect next as well.

"It's fine," she replied. "We can talk about this later."

"Okay," Alex said. "I just want you to know that I meant every word that I said." He sighed and looked at Jimmy before turn his eyes back to her. "It's not about him, it's about me. I am ready for this."

Jo opened her mouth without knowing what she should say. Was he confirming his proposal after she say she wasn't ready?

"I know for sure that I want to make you my wife and spend the rest of my life with you," he continued, apparently not noticing her confusion. "But I can wait. I will wait, because I want you to be sure too," he stopped for a second, staring directly into her eyes. "Just... don't run."

Only when Alex finished, lifting an eyebrow to her like expecting an answer, Jo noticed that she was holding her breath. She sighed in relief.

"I won't."


	2. How deep is your love (10x14)

**_We're living in a world of fools  
_****_Breaking us down  
_****_When they all should let us be  
_****_We belong to you and me  
_****(How deep is your love - Bee Gees)**

Sitting at a corner table and staring at her phone, Jo took a sip of her third beer. As if the day wasn't bad enough, Robbins asked Alex to help her with an emergency surgery, just when he was almost ready to leave. Jo waited for half an hour on the resident's locker's room, but that place was too heavy for her to stay longer, then she showered and decided to go to Joe's. Now, she regretted her decision. She should've went to her apartment and asked Alex to meet her there. It was the only place they could have privacy to talk, since the bar was full of coworkers non fraternizing and his house had it's own board member to check on them.

Her phone biped and, when she finished reading the text he just sent her, to say that he was already changing to his regular clothes, Jo saw Stephanie heading to her table. Great! She was still mad at all of her fellow residents, she didn't want to see them. Stephanie sat across the table and, for a few seconds, none of them said anything. They just stared at each other, as if they were on a game where the first one to speak loses. Jo didn't want to lose, but she knew she owned an apology to her friend and the sooner she spoke, the sooner she would be alone again.

"I'm sorry for blaming you," Jo said. Stephanie's expression didn't change and Jo wasn't able to decipher it. "But I'm still pissed with this whole thing and I'm waiting for Alex, who is even more pissed than me, so-" She couldn't finish the sentence, because her friend finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for you being punished for other people's mistakes." As Stephanie said that, Jo felt a little bit lighter. It was good to receive some support from her so called best friend. "You know... I should've known that Leah was going to make the complain, we talked about this. I could've stopped her. But I keep thinking about what Shane said and maybe it will be good, after all."

"Right," Jo sighed. Support? Forget it!

"I'm serious," Stephanie continued, facing Jo's annoyed face. "Don't you remember how we used to say that we didn't want to be the kind of girl who sleeps with her boss? Like Leah did?"

Jo couldn't avoid a sarcastic laugh. "You know, I have reasons enough to hate Leah now, you remind me that she slept with my boyfriend is not gonna help me forgive her."

"Okay," Stephanie said. "Let me put this in another way. I worked hard to get here. I don't want to risk my career being unfocused, worrying about Jackson or whoever it is that I may fall in love someday. And I'm sure you don't want too, I'm sure you worked harder than me, since you did everything alone and-"

Jo cut her. Why was that so hard to understand? "Exactly. I did everything on my own. But do you think it was my choice? That I enjoyed it? No, Steph. I did it all alone because I didn't have anyone with me." As she said that, Jo felt the tears falling down on her cheeks. She prayed for some time to put herself together before Alex arrives. "And now I have. For the first time in my freaking twenty seven years, I have someone who really cares about me, who supports me, who I can trust, who I feel safe with. And everytime we think things will be okay, and we can have some peace, something happens to mess with us again. So no, I don't want to jeopardize my career, but I don't want to lose the most important person in my life either. Now, if you don't mind, he will be here any minute and you probably don't want to get in trouble with one of your bosses. It can affect your medical education."

As Stephanie left, Jo closed her eyes, trying to fight her tears. She wouldn't let anyone talk crap about her relationship. But, deep inside, she was questioning herself. What if they were right?

* * *

Alex entered the Emerald City Bar and went directly to Jo's favorite table. He didn't want to let her waiting anymore and he didn't want to wait anymore. Despite having friends at the hospital, in that moment, he felt that they only had each other.

"Hey," he said, while kissing her quickly in the cheek and sitting in front of her. She had her head leaning on the wall and looked tired. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm tired. Can you just take me home, please? My place, I don't feel like sharing a meal with Yang."

She payed her beers and they went out. When Alex put his arms around her, he noticed how uptight she was and squeezed her shoulder. She was more silent than usual too, and Alex didn't know exactly how to handle this. Jo was the chatty one in their relationship, not him. They drove in silence all the way to her building. Then, he parked and both of them got out of the car. He went to her side, stopped in front her, placing his hands on her waist, and kissed her softly. For the first time since they left the bar, she looked at his eyes, and he knew that she was about to burst.

"Rough day, uh?" Alex said. She nodded.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "If you want me to. You look like you can pass out in the bed right now."

She smiled. Maybe, she wasn't as mad as she seemed. "What if I pass out in the elevator? I may need someone to rescue me."

They went to her apartment, an one bedroom barely furnished and much smaller than his big house, where they used to spend most of their nights off. This week was supposed to be a good week, since none of them would have to work the night shift, but they didn't have that luck often. Thinking about this made Alex upset again. Sometimes, the moments they had together at the hospital were the only ones for days.

Jo went to the kitchen and put some fridge food at the microwave, while Alex took a beer and sat at the table. When the food was ready, she took it and came to sit with him. They ate in silence for half a minute, before she start to talk.

"Alex," she said. "What are we gonna do? With the board, I mean."

Alex knew that she would mention that at some point and they had to talk about it, even though he didn't want to. He didn't care about being punished of even fired, but he had to think about her too. He would never forgive himself if she got fired because of him.

"I don't know. They can't punish us while Avery is doing Kepner, can they?" He asked. He truly wanted to believe that.

"They're married," Jo replied.

"What?" Alex almost spat his food. When did that happened?

"Yeah. They said it after you left the conference room, and everybody was so happy for them that they didn't even notice that I was still there. Kepner was the only one who tried to be nice and wished us luck," Jo explained.

"So, we basically have to chose between breaking up and being the only rebels at work?" He pointed, dropping his fork.

"We don't have do break up, you heard Shepherd."

"Do you think it's fair? If we can manage our crazy work schedules to meet outside the hospital, why the married couples, attendings owning the hospital, can't do the same?" Alex sighed. "They used to be my friends, you know? Not these untouchable people who boss around about things that is none of their business."

"There was a complain. Leah. I mean, it was anonymous, but I blamed Stephanie and Leah confessed. She says she feels that her medical education is compromised because of her affair with Robbins. Then Shane said something and I-" Jo tried to explain, but Alex cut her.

"Ross? Are you freaking serious?" He couldn't believe that she was paying attention to what that guy had to say.

"Alex, please, just listen," she asked and Alex tried to do so. They were both tired and upset, this conversation could turn into a fight any moment. "What he said makes sense. More that I want to admit."

"What?" Alex sighed and put his food aside to gave her his full attention. He'd lost his appetite already, anyway.

"Shane said that we're all distracted by our personal relationships at work. And since then I keep thinking... What if he's right? A girl died because we didn't come up with a solution in time for you and Dr Webber to save her." As she said that, Alex saw a tear on the corner of her eye. The worst thing about working on Peds: The losses seem much more painful and unfair. And one of the hardest things for him to learn was not to feel guilty for each one of them.

"It's not your fault," he said, holding her hand.

"I'm not so sure," she muttered, moving her eyes from him to the ground, and back to stare directly into his eyes. "I was the one who didn't want to work together, because I was too mad at them."

"There was nothing we could've done to save Rory. Even if we had a solution when we found out about her problem, we wouldn't have enough time," he explained. It was sad, but it was the truth. Now, all they could do was watch Ariel, trying to save her from having the same destiny her older sister had. "Don't blame yourself."

"Fine," she said, after a few seconds of silence. "But I want you to promise me something. We won't give them any reasons to go against our relationship. You won't distract me, and if you ever see me doing something wrong, you'll treat me like any other resident, not afraid to hurt my feelings. Deal?"

"And since when do I care about feelings?" He smirked. He didn't have to lecture her - or any of her friends, actually - often, but he would do if he needed to.

"Nice try. It would work, if I didn't knew you better than this. Promise?"

Alex looked at his girlfriend with a proud look in his eyes. After several years of no luck when it came to love, he now had a girl who was asking him to not to care about her feelings, because the lives of their patients were more important to her. She would be a great surgeon someday, and he would do anything in his power to make sure of this.

"I promise."

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

I wrote this chapter right after 10x14, but I wasn't sure about Jo's feelings and so I wasn't very confident about publishing it. Honestly, I'm still not so sure. But I keep coming back to the site, and it's so frustrating when I don't find nothing new, so I decided that even if I'm one episode behind and even if I'm not one hundred percent canon, it's better then nothing, right? I hope you enjoy and, please, tell me what you think.


	3. That's the way it is (10x15)

**_If you stick together  
_********_You're gonna find the way  
_**_**So don't **_**_surrender  
_****_'Cause you can _**_**win  
**_**(That's the way it is - Céline Dion)**

"I wonder if it will ever get easier," Kepner said, as she approached Jo in front of their patient's room. His friend was still there, blaming the guy for dying.

"Excuse me?" Jo asked, not sure if she knew what her boss was talking about.

"This," the redhead said, pointing to the room with her eyes. "It's hard to loose any patient, but when it's a donor, it's like we've failed twice."

Jo nodded, understanding. She wasn't at the case when the guy had the brain death, but it felt twice to her too. She failed to all those people who needed the organs, and she failed to herself. She was holding on to that guy to compensate the fact that she could barely talk to her boyfriend and to avoid thinking about the dumpster baby. Now, all she had ahead was a long night at the ER.

"How are things going for you and Alex?" Kepner asked, out of the blue. Why was she so nice? How could she be so nice and, still, leave at the altar a man who loved her? Jo would never understand that.

"Do you really care?" Jo snapped, aware that it was probably a bad idea to answer to an attending that way. Kepner, though, didn't seem to be affected by her sarcasm.

"Actually, I do," she replied decisively, making Jo look at her again. "I feel like it's all my fault, because it was my almost wedding that triggered these things. And, though I like to pretend that I hate Alex, I care about him. You too, of course, but he is sort of my friend, and he is Jackson's friend, and I know him, and Meredith, and Cristina since my third year of residence, so..."

Jo sighed and smiled, as an attempt to show that she was convinced. She felt like Kepner could keep explaining herself all the night. Jo could relate with her on this one; she also used to ramble when she was nervous or trying to make a point. "Well," she started, "it's not so good. While my punishment is the chance of scrubbing in on a cool trauma surgery, he is suspended from his own surgeries for three days."

"He must be really pissed," Kepner guessed.

"Honestly, I think he enjoys being the rebel. And I can't say that I wouldn't too, if I were in his position." Yes, he was pissed. But one of the many things Jo had learned since she met Alex, was that he would always do what he thought that was right, and it didn't matter what the others thought about it. So, he would be a rebel, call his friends hypocrites and enjoy it.

"What do you mean?" Kepner asked, much for Jo's surprise. She thought that she had only stated the obvious. Well, maybe not everybody were paying this much attention on her boyfriend, even his friends who knew him long before her.

"Well, while I'm just a resident, he is a kickass pediatric surgeon, who's been here for almost seven years, the board members are all his friends and his boss adores him. Guess who has to be the careful one in this relationship?"

"I'm sure that he would understand if you tell him this." Kepner touched Jo's arm and said in a comprehensive tone.

"Yeah, he understands," Jo explained. "Alex would never do anything to compromise my career on purpose. Most of the time, we agree on how to handle this. It's just that while he is having fun breaking the rules, I'm freaking out."

Kepner laughed. "I guess it's a fair compensation for you getting surgeries while he loses them."

"Yeah." Jo laughed too. _Fair_ wasn't a word that she would use on that whole situation, but okay. Kepner didn't use it on purpose.

"Do you love him?"

Jo didn't reply immediately. Not that she didn't know the answer, it's just that Kepner and her didn't have that kind of intimacy, they weren't friends. And love was a serious thing to her. Not something she would say in a casual small talk with one of her bosses. The other woman seemed to notice her discomfort. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't've asked you this, it's none of my business."

Damn it! Now Kepner would think that she didn't love Alex, and she would tell Jackson and the fake news would spread quickly, like every gossip in that hospital. "No, it's okay, really. I do. I do love him. More than I ever loved anyone in my entire life." Jo couldn't avoid a smile as she said that. Kepner looked into her eyes and Jo saw empathy, a thing that she wasn't seeing in her friends lately.

"You're gonna be fine," Kepner said. "If me and Jackson are married now, you two can go through anything."

Jo sighed and shook her head.

"What?" Kepner asked, with a confused look in her eyes.

"You know, you're making it really hard for me to hate you," Jo replied.

"So, let's make a deal. You don't hate me, and I don't tell Edwards."

* * *

Alex was lying on a gurney, eyes closed and the love contract cranked in his pocket, when he heard footsteps ahead of him. Who was it? No one used to visit that part of the tunnels anymore. It was his refuge since he and his friends finished their residences and started to hang out at the attending's lounge. None of them knew that he still went there when he wanted to be alone.

The steps stopped a few feet away, but Alex didn't bother to look at whoever it was. It was probably Hunt, to make sure that there weren't any subordinates hooking up with him. He was surprised when he heard a female voice. "Hey," she said, timidly, as if she was afraid to wake him up.

"Jo?" He opened his eyes, and moved his hands into his lab coat, trying to make sure that the damn paper was hidden properly. "What are you doing here?"

She stepped closer and he got up to release some space, so both of them could sit there together. "Bringing you some food. I didn't page you, because I wanted to surprise you. Which is a little stupid, if I think about it now." Jo sat next to Alex and handed him one of the bags she was carrying. He thanked her with a kiss, and she kept talking. "When I couldn't find you anywhere, I asked Grey, and she told me about this place, where you guys used to hang out. She said that she comes here sometimes and she saw you coming on this direction. Now, you both have to find another hidden place, since a resident knows your secret," she smirked.

So, he wasn't the only one to use that place. How did he never met Meredith there?

"Or _she_ has to find another place, since it's a perfect spot for a forbidden relationship," before he finished the sentence, Alex realised that telling Jo about that place could be a way of Meredith help them. He needed to apologize to his friend. After all, she was having his back.

They both opened their bags, revealing two cheese and bacon sandwiches, and two cans of soda. Alex loved that Jo loved junk food as much as him.

"So, this is how it's gonna be now? Eating together at the tunnels, so nobody can see us?" She asked, before biting her sandwich.

"I'm afraid so. Hunt is everywhere." Alex took a sip on his soda and thought about the irony of all this. Less than two years ago, he slept with a dozen of interns, and never had a problem because of this. Now, that he'd settled down with a woman he loved, he couldn't be with her. Well, he could. If they signed the contract. But they wouldn't, because he wouldn't show it to her. "How is your patient?" He said, to change the subject. At least, she still had a surgery to scrub in.

She sighed and looked at him. "Dead."

He put her soda aside and squeezed her hand. "Sorry."

"And I am sorry for you losing your surgery. I mean, my punishment isn't exactly bad. If my patient hadn't died, I'd be at the OR right now."

"But he died. I guess we're on the same freaking place now," Alex said, trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah, and it sucks," She stopped for a second and sighed. "I should be with Oscar," she said, nonchalantly.

Alex widened his eyes. "What?" Who the hell was Oscar? An ex-boyfriend? No, it couldn't be. No woman tells her boyfriend that she should be with an ex.

"The baby Stephanie and me found earlier," Jo replied, much for Alex relief.

"Oh, the baby." Of course. With Meredith stealing his surgery and showing him the love contract, he completely forgot about the dumpster baby. "How are you? About this."

"I'm fine. I tried not to think about it. If I think, I'll be pissed at whoever did that to him. What did that poor little boy do to deserve being left in a box by the dumpsters?"

As she said that, Alex noticed that her eyes were teared up. To see an abandoned baby was a hard thing for everyone, but it was even harder for someone who went through the same thing, even though she seemed not to think this much about it. Alex wanted to say something to make her feel better. But how could he, when he had his own abandonment issues?

"It's not his fault," he said the only thing that he could think. And, by this, Alex meant Oscar - it wasn't the baby's fault that someone left him - but also, he was talking about her. It wasn't Jo's fault either that her mother didn't want her. He tried to convince himself that it was true for him too. Izzie wasn't his fault. Lucy wasn't his fault. He had his mistakes with both of them, but it was their decision not to talk, not to fight, not to stay. He wasn't worthy enough for them. Would he be worthy enough for Jo to sign that stupid piece of paper?

Right there, at the tunnels, eating junk food and drinking soda, Alex looked at his beautiful girlfriend and thought about what she had already fought for him. Maybe, this time, he'd found someone who was willing to fight more _with_ him. And there was only one way to know.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

I hate writer's block! I tried to write every day last week, and nothing came out. Now, I finally finished this chapter, and I want to write one more on this story and at least one on Miles this week, but I can't promise anything, because I don't know where's my inspiration. Until it comes back, all that I can do is rewatch that amazing last scene when Jo signed the paper and try to not freak out thinking that they will kill Alex at the end of the season, just because he ate bacon and said "one of us could die tomorrow".

Thank you for the follows, favorites and reviews. Just in case that someone wants to make me happy, I love reviews :)


	4. Kiss on my list (10x16)

**_Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list  
_****_Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist  
_****_Because your kiss is on my list of the best thing in life  
_****(Kiss on my list - Hall and Oates)**

"Alex!" Jo cried, when her boyfriend suddenly kissed her and put his hand inside of her jeans.

"What? You used to like it." He retorted.

"I do, but why the rush? Didn't you just say that you can kiss me whenever you want? No need to rush anything," she said and squeezed his right leg with her right hand. She wasn't making it easy for him.

"Well, I want to kiss you now," he raised his right arm and passed it around her shoulders, bringing her closer and pecking her lips before she could notice it.

She laughed. "Then, I think you should stop the car first."

He laughed too and, right then, they came to an intersection and he stopped at the red light. Only to provoke Jo, Alex kissed her again. After those stressful days with the new policy at the hospital, they finally could have a happy lighthearted moment. God, what did that girl do to him to make him more desperately passionate about her every day? Her thoughts about the love contract killing their relationship were so wrong that they even left Webber's birthday party earlier than they'd planned and the way home had never felt so long. While their tongues played with each other's and his hands ran through her curves, Alex completely forgot where they were, until he heard a honk. Oh, yeah. Green light. Jo started to giggle as she pushed Alex and he started to drive again. Fortunately, they were only five blocks away from home and there was no more traffic lights. Next time they stopped, they'd be at his garage, and they could do everything they wanted. Not in the car, of course. But he doubt that they would make it to his bedroom with their pants on.

As Alex parked, Jo quickly got out of the car and she was halfway to the door when he caught her. He grabbed her by the waist and buried his face on her hair, placing little kisses on her neck. She smiled and turned around to face him, putting her arms around his neck. They were already by the door, but he didn't have the chance to take his keys from his pocket, she pulled him closer and they shared a deep kiss. He finally managed to find his keys, while she ran her hands under his shirt, her lips still searching for his. He opened the door and closed it fast, as soon as they were both inside. Jo jumped on him and all he wanted to do was take off their clothes right there.

While they kissed one more time, Alex took a step back and leaned against the wall. Then, he felt something weird. Was the wall... moving? Jo didn't seem to notice anything, but he had to break the kiss. He saw a look of disappointment when she opened her eyes, but it didn't last more than a second.

"Oh, my God!" Jo cried. As Alex put her back on the ground, he turned around to see an embarassed look at the face of a shirtless Owen Hunt, with Cristina right behind him.

"Hi!" Cristina said, obviously drunk. She was shirtless too and she didn't even bother to hide, since Alex had seen her changing clothes many times when they were interns and they didn't have time to wait in a line outside the bathroom before pre rounds. Hunt was still speechless and Alex didn't say anything either. An awkward silence fell between them, until Jo broke it, whispering behind Alex. "Did they sign the love contract too?"

Alex coughed to suppress a laugh as he saw Hunt's face becoming even redder at her comment. It wasn't the first time Alex caught the couple by surprise and neither it was the first compelling moment between some of them on the house - Alex was sure that both Jo and Hunt remembered the 'touching boobs incident' in the kitchen. He had the feeling that, if Cristina was getting back together with Hunt, they'd find themselves in this kind of situation more often than all of them wanted to.

"I... I'm sorry..." Owen started, at the same time that Alex asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

Cristina was the one answering. "The same that you two, in case you didn't notice."

Alex made a face at her. "At least, we are still dressed."

"Only because we stopped you from undress," she snapped back.

Just then Alex saw that their clothes were hanging on his couch. They were doing it there? On his couch? He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't. Not in front of Jo. It would sound extremely cheesy for him to admit that he cared more about the couch she gave him than any other place. For Cristina, it was only another part of the house that she paid to live in.

Hunt took the pause on their banter to put an end on the awkward situation. "Well, why don't we all go upstairs?" He said. "I mean, we go to Cristina's room, and you go to your room, of course."

He was the first one to walk to the stairs, and Cristina followed him. As she made a final eye contact with Alex, he shook his head and she stopped. "What?" She said and lowered her voice. "Weren't you saying just this afternoon that I should be banging him?" He rolled his eyes. "I really should stop giving you advice."

Jo, who was still silent, was the next to take her way, grabbing Alex's hand to come with her. "Let's go. And don't you dare being grumpy now, I don't plan to let them spoil our night."

She was right. Alex followed her upstairs, playing with her fingers entangled to his. By the time they got to his bedroom, he wasn't even thinking about Yang and Hunt making out on his couch anymore. They entered the room and he closed the door, grabbing her by the waist and giving her a kiss that started soft, but they quickly deepened it. Alex took off his shirt and felt Jo's hands exploring his chest while he tried to take off her shirt too. As they shared another kiss, he took her from the floor and threw her in the bed, falling over her. Another kiss, and they made themselves comfortable, starting to take their pants off. That's when they heard a noise.

Both of them stopped. "What..." Jo started to say, and another noise came from outside. Alex turned around and fell with his back on the other side of the bed, sighing in frustration.

"Yang and Hunt?" She asked, and he nodded. "I can't believe we can hear them from here." Yeah, they could. And they were always pretty loud.

"I'm gonna talk to them," Alex got up from the bed and picked up his shirt from the floor. Jo widened her eyes to him. "Now?"

"Why not?" He replied. "Or do you want to wait them finish? Believe me, this can go on the whole night."

He was serious, but Jo laughed. "You're to tense. I don't hear anything now, maybe they remembered that we are here and decided to be a little more discrete."

Alex didn't have time to answer, Cristina did it for him, with a yell that could be heard by the whole neighborhood. Jo put her hand on her mouth, before speak again. Then, she frowned for a second, smiled and walked, getting closer to him. "How comfortable is your car?"

"What?" Alex asked. He was still thinking that it was better to knock on Yang's room and ask them to keep things lower.

Jo rolled her eyes at his confuse look. "Don't even try to say that you never did it on the car."

Well, he had had sex on the car. Many times. Including his first time in Iowa many years ago - nothing could be more uncomfortable than his teacher's old car. "Yeah, but..." He tried to argument that it was totally unfair, but she was putting her shirt already.

"Come on... It could be fun, we never had sex anywhere else than our beds, the couch and the on call room. I thought you were more adventurous." Jo bite her lower lip and looked at him with a defiant look in her eyes, which made him crazy. Oh, she wanted fun in the car, she would have fun in the car.

Next day, he went to work with a small bump on his forehead. It was worth it.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

You all know that I love Crowen almost as much as I love Jolex, right? I'm dying to see any scene with my two favorite couples in the house, though I don't think it's going to happen. I mean, considering 10x17. Even my little Crowen heart will have to accept that they don't work. Speaking of 10x17, I still don't know if I'll write something about it. Any ideas? Maybe I should work on Miles. If there's someone wondering, I didn't forget about it.

As always, thank you for the support and, please, tell me what you think.


	5. Future days (10x17)

**_I believe  
_****_And I believe, 'cause I can see  
_****_Our future days  
_****_Days of you and me  
_****(Future days - Pearl Jam)**

**2020**

"Jo," Alex cried as he fast opened the door. He was late. He planned to be at their house about two hours earlier, but he had a complication on a surgery and then he got stuck on the traffic.

He looked at the living room and the kitchen, but he didn't find her. That's when he heard someone calling him. "Daddy!" The four year old girl appeared at the top of the stairs, bringing a smile to Alex's face. Claire, the daughter he never thought he could love this much.

"Hey, my girl! You look beautiful," he said. She was wearing the red dress Meredith gave her on her latest birthday, with golden flats and a golden bow headband that barely could be noticed in the middle of her curls. Anyone who looked at her hair could say immediately that she was Jo's daughter. Or at her smile, they had the same smile that made Alex crazy every time. But anyone who looked at her deep hazel eyes would know that she was his daughter too.

Claire ran a few steps down and Alex quickly met her halfway, stooping to be at the same height as her. "Hey, what did I tell you about running on the stairs?" He asked, serious. She looked directly into his eyes. Some kids would be afraid of facing their parents like this, but his kid wasn't one of those.

"You told me I can't run, because you don't want me to fall," Claire replied.

"Exactly," he said. "And why did you run?"

"Because I wanted to hug you. If I get hurt, I know you will fix me." Alex fought to suppress a laugh. Claire's answers were always surprising him. She was smart for her age - and he didn't think that only because he was her father, like many parents did, he knew kids well enough to say so and even Arizona agreed.

He took her on his arms and got up again. "I will, but I still don't want you to get hurt, okay?" She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her temple and went up the rest of the stairs. "Where's your mom?" He asked.

"On my bedroom," she replied. "She is talking with aunt Mer. I talked to her too. Mommy let me answer the phone. Aunt Mer said we are late and mommy said it is your fault."

Alex laughed and put the little gossiper on the floor as they reached the top. Jo was coming to meet them. "Hi," Alex said, kissing her lips briefly. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just waiting for you," she replied. They were going to Bailey's 7th birthday. "Are you going to take a shower or eat anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I showered quickly at the hospital. We don't want to get there when the party is almost over. What did Mer say?" He asked.

"She doesn't know if they'll be able to wait for us before singing happy birthday. And it's all set up for Claire to spend the night with them." Besides being Bailey's birthday, it was also their 7th anniversary as a couple. They had romantic plans to celebrate the date. Or, maybe not so romantic, since the plans included getting drunk, eating pizza and having lots of sex, without worrying if the door was properly closed. The kind of stuff you can't do with a kid at home. Alex would never switch the life with Claire for a life with drunk sex every night, but both him and Jo could appreciate a night like that now and then.

"So, let's go?" He asked.

"Let's go." Jo replied and turned to Claire. "Honey, did you get your purse?"

The girl covered her mouth with her hands, widened her eyes and ran to her room, laughing. Alex looked intrigued at his wife. "Why does she need a purse? Do you know she is only four, right?"

Jo laughed. "I do. But I don't think she does."

Alex couldn't help give a little laugh too, when he saw their daughter running back to meet her parents with a shoulder bag matching her dress and her shoes at the same time. "Ready." Claire said. He took her from the floor, terrified by the feeling that she was growing up too fast. It had been five years since he received that 911 page to an on call room, where Jo was waiting to tell him unceremoniously that she was pregnant. Five years already.

When they got to the car, Alex put the girl on her seat and sat on the driver spot. Jo was looking into her bag to make sure that everything Claire could need at night was there. They talked a few minutes about their day, before Claire interrupt them.

"Mommy, Josh is gonna be there?" She asked. Alex looked at her through the rearview mirror and his look met Jo's as she replied. "I think so."

Claire smiled before noticed that she was being observed by both her parents. "Josh, as in Joshua Kepner-Avery?" Alex asked, turning his attention back to the road.

"Yes," Jo replied. "Today, when I picked her on daycare, she said he's her boyfriend."

Alex almost crashed the car. "What?" He said and lowered his voice when he saw that Claire was paying attention to their conversation. "How old does she think she is?"

"Apparently, a little older than we think she is," Jo replied, nonchalantly. Alex looked surprised at her. How could she be so cool about that? He wouldn't be ready to talk about boyfriends for the next twenty years.

"I'm gonna talk to Jackson. He owns the damn hospital, he should know what they're teaching our kids at the daycare," Alex said, much to Jo's amusement.

"I don't think she learned it there. Maybe it's on the genes. Karev genes," she replied, raising an eyebrow to him.

In other times, he would freak out at the mention of Karev genes - his mother's schizophrenic genes. But - thank God - a couple of years earlier Dr Bailey agreed to map their genomes, under the argument that Jo knew nothing about her family. Besides allergic rhinitis, Claire was free from hereditary diseases. "You are so funny," he said sarcasticaly.

"I am," she said. "And you love me."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "I do," he said with a smirk. Alex was happy that they weren't one of those couples who become boring after getting married and having a baby. He could picture them at their eighties talking dirty and making fun of each other. And there was Claire, the perfect mix between the two of them. Smart, perky, determined, strong, but also sweet when she wanted to and extremely loyal to the ones she loved. A little too stubborn, but how could she be different being their daughter? Despite all of their fears of not being good parents - and the strands of gray hair that she certainly gave him with this conversation about Avery's boy - she was a good kid. Perfect, he thought while looking at her through the mirror, distracted playing with the fake cellphone she carried in her purse.

Alex was lost in his thoughts when Jo interrupted him. "Don't worry about her, okay? All the kids play girlfriend and boyfriend at this age. If you want, we can talk later about making a brother to take care of our little princess," she smiled and added: "And we can practice. A lot."

He smiled back and agreed with her, before murmuring to himself: "But I'm still talking to Avery."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Surprise! I didn't plan to write this, I went to bed last night and, when I woke up today, I had this whole scene on my head. I guess my writer's block is gone. I was mad that we didn't see anything about Jolex on Cristina's future, but I had so much fun writing this that I don't even care about it anymore. I just want to see Alex having a kid before the show ends.

I really like this chapter and I hope you all like it too. Please, make me happy and review :)


	6. Stay with me (10x18)

**_I'll come to you in need  
_****_And I'll help you when I can  
_****_When I can  
_****(Stay with me - Colbie Caillat)**

Alex opened his eyes as he took his cellphone from the nightstand. 7:30 AM. He still had half an hour before he had to get up to be at work at nine. It would be a long day, since Arizona was, in fact, sick and he had to cover most of her patients. Besides that virus, the day before had brought two complicated cases to the Peds floor: Three sibblings with a heart condition that even Cristina Yang didn't know where it come from and a boy with no immune system. Again, it would be a long day and he should enjoy every second he had until it starts. Before closing his eyes again, he turned to the other side and saw Jo's hair spreading all across the bed. He moved her locks away, so he could change his position without the risk of sleeping over them and hurt her.

Wait.

Alex stretched his arm to the nightstand again and, this time, he took his watch. 7:32 AM. There was something wrong, and it wasn't the clock. He was pretty sure that Jo had to be at the hospital at seven. The night before, they'd talked about his student loans and then she told him about her surgery with Callie and her new interest in orthopedics. Then, she said Callie had recruited her to another surgery this morning. What was she still doing at bed?

"Jo." Alex whispered. As she didn't respond, he raised his voice a little and called her again. "Jo?" She mumbled something he didn't understand and turned her face to his side, her eyes still closed. Then he heard her breathing heavily again. Still sleeping. Alex didn't know what happened, she was never this hard to wake up. He squeezed her shoulder, called her name one more time and she finally opened her eyes, mumbling again.

"What?" She asked, hoarsely.

"Get up, Sleeping Beauty, didn't you have a surgery at seven? You're late," he replied.

Slowly, Jo sat on the bed, with her hand on her head, as if she was trying to understand what he just said. Alex just looked at her, finding a little funny her confusion. As the good boyfriend he was, he certainly would use that against her later. "Oh, my God!" She said, seeming to remember about the surgery. "I..." She was about to say something else, when she stopped, put her hand on her mouth and ran to the bathroom. He got up and went after her, finding her kneeling before the toilet. He bent by her side and held her hair on his hands, so she could be more comfortable - or less uncomfortable, whatever. When she finished, Jo sat on the floor, with her back against the wall. Alex took a towel and handed it to her. Then he flushed, closed the toilet's lid and sat there, in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She didn't answer, she just looked at him. She didn't seem to be okay and, of course, she wasn't, she'd just threw up. "Aren't you pregnant, are you?" He tried to lighten the mood. This time, her answer was the towel flying on his direction. "Hey, I'm just asking!"

"Yes, I am pregnant," she replied. "Just like Shepherd, and Avery, and Warren, and half of the hospital staff, jackass."

He smiled at her. "Good, if you're still calling me names, you're not so bad that I can't leave you here while I work. Come on, back to bed." He got up and extended a hand to help her to stand up too.

"No," she complained. "I have to go to the hospital."

"Why? You have a doctor right here, and he is saying that you can not work today," he said. They both left the bathroom and she sat at the bed. Beside her efforts to look normal, she was obvious unable to leave home. She was pale and her barely open eyes were red. Also, she probably had a fever. He put a hand on her forehead. "You're hot. And not in the good way."

"Alex..." She made a face at him, but it didn't work. As he didn't respond, she tried another plea. "What about that unspoken rule, that doctors don't get sick?"

He rolled his eyes. "Uh, do you mean the rule that made Derek pass out in the middle of the hall yesterday? Or the one that made Murphy throw up during a surgery? Listen, Robbins is sick and I have tons of patients to attend. I can't spend all day worried about you working when you're clearly not well enough for it."

"It's sweet, but I can take care of my-" Again, she ran to the bathroom before she could finish her sentence. Again, Alex ran after her to hold her hair and give her a towel. Yeah, he knew she could take care of herself, but he wouldn't be him if he let her to, while he was there to help. At least, it was just a virus, he'd dealt with much worse things before.

While he waited for her to say something or get up, Alex found a hair tie in the sink. He took it and gave it to her. "Here, if you're gonna do this alone, you might need this."

Groaning at his sarcasm, Jo took it from his hand and, after put her hair up, she asked him to help her get up again. He noticed that her hands were cold and she was starting to shiver. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her back to bed. She gave up of fighting with him and just followed his directions.

"I have some pills in the kitchen that will make you feel better. And I think Cristina have tea and healthy cookies. You need to eat something," he said, walking to the door and leaving the bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later Alex was back with water, pills, tea and cookies. He knew she wouldn't be able to eat much, but she should try. Jo was almost asleep, but she managed to sit, take the pills with a sip of water and thank him. He kissed her forehead, then changed his clothes and went to work.

* * *

Jo was in the kitchen, trying to prepare a vegetable soup for dinner, when she heard the front door opening. Only by the sound of it, she couldn't say if it was Alex or Yang. Or someone he sent to check on her - by lunchtime, she was surprised by a visit from Stephanie, who traded the favour for scrubbing in on one of his surgeries. After sleeping most of the day, Jo was feeling much better now. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad that Alex persuaded her to stay home. Though she was used to be on her own and not stay sick for too long, it felt good to know that she could relax sometimes and let someone else worrying about her well being.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alex asked, entering the kitchen.

"Yes, much better," she replied, finishing to wash a carrot before turning to face him. When she did, she noticed that she couldn't say the same about him. "And you look like crap."

He sat on a bench and tried to sound cool, though she knew he wasn't. "I'm fine." Without saying anything, Jo crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow to him. "What?" He asked.

"You are as sick as I am," she said, turning back to work on her meal. "Since when are you feeling bad?"

He took a few seconds before answer. "A couple of hours."

Jo didn't believe him. "Alex."

He sighed. "Fine. Since I left the house this morning. Happy now?"

She opened her mouth and closed her eyes. He made her stay at home while he went to work feeling bad all day? She was about to say that and complain about how unfair it was, when she looked at him over her shoulder. He had his head on the table and seemed about to faint right there.

She made the only decision she could make at that point: Soup for two.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Am I the only one who wanted to see either Alex or Jo sick on that episode? Anyway, I loved not only 10x18, but also 10x19. I can't believe we only have 5 more episodes before the season ends =/

Thank you for all the support with my stories. Reviews are always welcomed.


	7. Sunshine girl (10x19)

_**Will this be a good or a bad day?  
Well don't you worry  
I could be your sunshine girl  
Or the company for your misery  
I could be the quiet one  
Or the life of the party  
Whatever you need, I'm your girl  
**_**(Sunshine Girl - Britt Nicole)**

"So, I heard you are now into Ortho, is it true?" Grey asked Jo as the two of them sat together in the kitchen. It was 5:25 AM and they were watching Alex cooking breakfast for them, while Yang was upstairs answering some calls.

"Yes, did Shepherd told you? I never thought I would like breaking bones this much," Jo replied. She was working not only with Torres, but also with Shepherd on their research.

Grey laughed. "It's been a while since Callie had a resident to teach. She's good. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have The Torres Method helping me to study for my boards, two years ago."

Jo knew that Callie was a good teacher, but, to be fair, most of the attendings at the hospital were. She didn't know anything about that Torres Method. "Really? It's good to know."

"Well," Grey continued. "I got stomach flu from Zola and threw up for the last third of my exam, but I passed, so..."

Alex, who was silent making eggs until that moment, entered the conversation. "That was bad. I'm glad I didn't stay long enough."

Jo didn't know what to say. There was one of her bosses sharing puke stories with her, only half an hour after watching a Harper Avery nominated receiving her call. After being Alex's girlfriend for almost a year, she felt much more comfortable around his friends than she used to feel before. Sometimes, though, she still felt a little amazed by the fact that she knew some of those names she'd read when she was researching for residence programs. The Harper Avery's grandson, Ellis Grey's daughter, the army doctor who went to an actual war, the girl who operated with a gum on her head... Not to mention the guy who raised money to bring a bunch of African orphans to receive free treatment in the US - who just happened to be Jo's boyfriend. Alex could never know that she had a little crush on him before they met. Being herself an orphan, she couldn't help it. Thinking about it, Jo felt proud of herself and where she was now. One day, she would be the one teaching, receiving awards, the one that people looked at with the same respect that she and her friends had for those people now.

Turning back her attention to the conversation, she saw Grey throwing a kitchen towel on Alex, both laughing. "Look who's talking, the moron who decided to be a hero and almost missed his test."

"You what?" Jo asked. Recently, Alex had told her a few things that she didn't know about his years at the hospital, but this story she hadn't heard yet.

He replied. "I went to San Francisco, then I came back because my patient was dying. I almost gave up, but Robbins made me go. Still, I missed the first session, then I yelled at the examiner."

"Oh, my God. I don't know whether I should be proud of you or call you crazy," she said. Alex finished the eggs and the bacon, and put them in four plates at the island. Then, he sat by her side and put his arms around her waist, bringing her closer, before reply: "You should be proud. I'm good."

Looking at him, Grey laughed. "When did you become so confident?" Then, she pointed a finger to Jo. "I think it's your fault. And I like it."

Jo didn't have time to reply, since Yang entered the kitchen and all eyes turned to her, but she was secretly rejoicing for Alex's best friend's insinuation that she had done good for him - like he sure had for her.

"Hey, how are our next Harper Avery winner?" Grey asked to her friend. Yang didn't seem too excited. She was before; now, she was serious.

"I don't know, I didn't win yet," Yang replied. Grey and Alex exchanged a glance, while Jo focused on her food.

"I cooked breakfast," Alex said, pointing to the only untouched plate. "But you better not get used to it," he turned to Jo. "You too. Unless she's out and you are willing to-"

"Alex!" Blushing, Jo cut him. It was Grey's turn to pretend she wasn't listening to the conversation, but she did a crappy job and Jo could see a smirk on her face. Yang, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to anything. She took an apple from the fruit bowl and got out. "Thanks, but I'll pass. Lots of work to do."

"What's wrong with her?" Jo asked, looking at Grey, who didn't reply. Alex just ignored them and took the food from Yang's plate. "If I were nominated to an award like this, I'd be thrilled. Are we still doing the surprise?"

The night before, the two women met at the kitchen, and Grey recruited Jo to help her to organize a little celebration for Yang at the hospital. "Of course we are!" Grey replied. "She's just... Assimilating the information. She's been waiting for this day her whole life."

"What surprise?" Alex didn't seem to understand what they were talking about, and Jo suddenly remembered that it was her fault. Grey looked at her, "You didn't tell him?"

"I'm sorry," Jo apologized. "After I talk to you, I went to bed and I... We... Well..."

"Stop talking," Grey said, her eyes narrowing at the younger woman. "Alex, we're making a toast to Cristina. I'll bring the champagne and some decoration. Wilson will talk to the people while she does pre rounds, and, since Cristina will be with Robbins this morning, you'll be my spy. She can't leave the Peds floor until one of us page you. Okay?"

He shrugged, moving his eyes from his friend to his girlfriend. "It doesn't seem like I have a choice."

"Good," Grey finished her food and got up, ready to leave. "I gotta go. I'll try to see my kids before work."

Both Alex and Jo ate in silence for a few seconds. Then, she felt his hand going under her shirt. She looked at him, trying to stay serious, but he knew that she couldn't. "So, you and Mer making plans, that involve me, behind my back, while I was waiting for you upstairs... You should compensate me, you know? The last time I cooked for you, I had a damn good compensation."

She got up, taking all four plates from the island to the sink. She turned to him again, and saw he was still waiting for her response. "Maybe, I can compensate you tonight."

"Tonight? I was thinking more about... Now?" Alex got up, came towards her and they shared a short kiss. Then, she pushed him softly, took her purse and the car keys from the table, dismissing him as he watched her leave the room. "Tonight. We don't want to upset Medusa, do we?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Sorry, I know I'm two episodes behind the show, but I wanted to write something between Jo and Meredith, and it took me a while to have the right idea. The good news are that, meanwhile, I had some ideas for the next two chapters, so I hope I won't take this long to update again. The bad news are that every single time I open my files to write, all I want to do is rewatch those amazing scenes from 10x20 and 10x21. But I'll try to write one more chapter this week, then I'll go back to another chapter of Miles.

To the anon that sent me an ask on Tumblr, when I saw it I was almost done with this chapter, so... surprise! Here it is.

Thank you for the reviews. You are great and I love reading them.


	8. Wake me up (10x20)

_**I tried carrying the weight of the world**_  
_**But I only have two hands**_  
**(Wake me up - Aloe Blacc)**

"Alex?" Jo called her boyfriend after finishing his tie. Did he really sleep, sitting on the on call room bed, while she talked to him? Well it wasn't exactly a surprise, since he hadn't slept well in two weeks, but still, it was kinda funny. And he looked cute. That was Alex, going from the tough smoking hot double agent to a sweet sleeping kid in a few seconds. Not many girls had the luck of having a man like him, and Jo didn't know why on earth she would be one of them, but she was very grateful for it. However, as much as she loved him, she couldn't spend all day watching a man on his sleep.

When she was about to say his name again, she had a better idea and just placed a kiss on his cheek. Startled from the touch, he opened his sleepy eyes a little, trying to pretend that everything was fine. "I'm good," he said, and Jo couldn't help a smile. He rubbed his eyes and finally seemed to be awake. "What? I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Jo replied, getting up and sitting by his side on the bed. "I can't let you drive or practice medicine this way."

"I have to go," Alex objected, without standing, though. He was too tired to get up. "My first appointment is only at 10 AM, I can take a rest when I get there."

Jo looked at her watch, calculating how much time he still had, and made a suggestion: "Or you can sleep now. It's only 8:23 AM, you still have one hour. I can set my alarm and call you when it's time."

Alex thought about the idea for a while. "Promise?" He asked.

"Promise. Now, lie down, that I can use some sleep too," Jo replied, already setting the alarm on her cell phone. By the time she lay down by his side, he was sleeping already.

* * *

Alex woke up with the sound of the door closing. He had no idea how long he'd slept, the last thing he remembered was Jo assuring him that she wouldn't let him sleep too much. Now, she was gone, his shirt was all crumpled and the lighting coming from the window was different than it was supposed to be at morning. Slowly, Alex looked at his watch, afraid of what he was about to see. 2:17 PM. He was late. Extremely late.

As he got up, the door opened again, and Jackson entered the room, with his celphone on his hands and looking more grumpy than Alex was after missing most of his appointments for the day.

"Hey, man. Nice pajamas. Did I wake you?" He asked.

"If you was the one who slammed the door one minute ago, yes, thanks." Alex replied, without noticing that he sounded sarcastic when he really didn't want to.

"Sorry," Jackson said, sitting on the bed and holding his head with his hand. "Have you seen April, by chance?"

"I slept for six hours and, all due respect, I'm really not fond to see your wife in my dreams. Have you seen Jo?" Alex asked back.

"Yes, I did, actually." Jackson replied. "She was having a banter with Warren at the cafeteria just a few minutes ago."

Alex thanked his friend and walked fast towards the cafeteria. He knew it was probably a bad idea, he should go to the practice and try to save the slice of the afternoon that he still had, but he was too upset to do the right thing. He couldn't believe that Jo had done that, she knew how important it was for him to leave a good impression on Lebackes and his partner.

As soon as he arrived on the right floor, Alex spotted his girlfriend talking to Edwards and Warren next to the nurses station. She didn't see him, since she was facing the opposite direction, but Edwards did and pointed to him with her eyes.

Jo turned back. "Oh, my God... Alex, I'm so sorry, I swear it's not what you're thinking."

"Isn't it? You didn't need to say that you would wake me up, but once you did, it would be good to actually do what you said," Alex replied sarcastically, even though he hated fighting with her. She looked at both sides and he noticed that some people were watching them.

"Come here," she walked a few steps and entered the computer room behind them. He entered right after her and closed the door. "So?" He asked.

"I tried to wake you up, more than once, but you were sleeping so heavily that it didn't work. So, I... I called Lebackes and I told him you had an emergency and you couldn't go today." She explained, and Alex didn't know if he should be happy or mad. "I'm sorry, I really am. Please, don't me mad. I could keep trying until you wake, but you needed that rest, Alex."

Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't be mad at her when she was only taking care of him - and, truth be said, she used to do that much better than himself. "What did he say?"

"He said it was okay, that he could take some of the patients, and reschedule the others," she replied. Alex thought for a second. It wasn't that bad. Lebackes liked to have time between his appointments, he always had some time to spare, so the patients that were more urgent wouldn't be without treatment.

"Fine," he said, giving up and reaching for her hand. Sometimes, their arguments would take a little longer to finish; this one, however, could be an easy one.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you mad?"

"No," he replied with a crooked smile. "Not anymore."

She reached out and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Good. I only want what's best for you. You're always looking after me, and your friends, and your patients, but you forget to take care of yourself."

She was right, he wasn't very good at self care, and he was still learning how to let someone do that for him. "How did I survive before I met you?" He asked.

Jo laughed, and replied, before someone enter the room, interrupting their moment: "I have no idea."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I may take a while to update again, because I want to work on Miles, and the next chapter for both stories will probably be longer than usual. But don't worry, I won't abandon my stories until they're officially done.

In case there's anyone who didn't see them yet, there's two new Jolex stories for us and I recommend them both: **Change of plans**, by fraukey, and **But I never left you**, by SWChika. Read them, seriously.


End file.
